Chapter 19

T he light of the full moon was a blue-white veil that descended on the forest washing it in an otherworldly glow. It was almost as though every leaf of every plant sparkled under the shaft of moonlight. With her heart light and her emotions running high, she headed out of the village. Her destination was her favorite spot at the foot of Faradill.

Snow glanced back a few times to check to see if she was followed, but there was no sign of Ardan. Perhaps Elator had called him off for the night, giving her the opportunity to spend her evening under the moon and the stars. It was a gift. One for which she was eternally thankful. Elator understood her, something she had not realized until they sat by the fire together.

As she headed through the forest, her senses attuned to the faint sound of horse's hooves. She halted near the clearing where she'd first met the stranger, where she'd saved the unicorn from the hunter and paused to listen.

She expected to see another hunter and waited at the edge of the clearing as the distinct sound of hooves came closer and closer. Until at last the stranger came into view. She stiffened, her heart ramming hard in her chest.

He pulled the horse to a halt, then jumped down from the saddle, gripping the reins in one hand as he moved closer. He came into view, the glow of the moon bathing his face in light. She stifled the gasp as their eyes met.

The stranger had returned. How could this be?

When the thought slipped through her mind, she stiffened. She clenched her hand into a fist, ready to call upon all the forces of nature around her to protect herself. They stared at each other in a long beat of silence. There was only the sound of the crickets.

"You again," she said at last, her voice strong and sure.

"I confess it is a strange thing to meet you once again in the same place." There was a smile in his voice. A smile she didn't like.

Who was he and why was he here? It had been days since they met. She had thought of him often and wondered if they would see each other again. She never expected it to happen so soon, if at all.

"What do you want?" Her words were hard and full of suspicion.

"My name is Roderick. I'm a master blacksmith in the town of Bridgefort. I make armor for King Alfred."

She lifted a brow. "That did not answer my question. Why are you in my woods once again, sir?"

"It is a fair question," he said. "Are you the one they call Snow White?"

She went very still as she peered at him, her hand still clenched. Regret for leaving the confines of the village slashed through her. She was no longer within the safety of the Elders magic and tonight, it might cost her. Her senses stretched outward, touching on the vines and the brambles and the nocturnal creatures. A rustling nearby startled him. His head swiveled from side to side as he listened.

She ignored his question. Never had an outsider come into these woods with her name upon their lips. It unnerved her.

"Again, I ask. What do you want?"

He took a tentative step toward her. Without thinking, Snow lifted her hand, still clenched. Several vines sprang upward, reaching for him. Sensing them before he saw them, his hands flew up. The vines stopped mid-reach. Their magic clashed against one other, the vines shuddering.

"You are an elemental," he said.

"As are you," she replied. "Your presence in these woods is unwanted."

"I understand your unease. Especially since I come at the behest of Queen Seraphina."

She doubled her efforts to attack him but his magic held strong. If he was a messenger for Seraphina, then her instincts were right in that he was trouble.

"I mean you no harm," he said. He twisted his hands palm up in surrender.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"I suppose you'll have to trust me."

His magic pushed back against hers. She felt the ripple of it through her clenched fist, her wrist and then up her arm. If she released him, would he attack her?

"You and I are a lot alike," he said. "I want to help you."

"Help me how?" Her eyes narrowed to slits.

"Release your magic. I'll release mine. Then we can discuss. You have my word I will not harm you," he said.

She regarded him coolly, not budging.

"I never go back on my word," he added.

With reluctance, she released her magic. He released his. The vines fell away, back into their normal place. They stared at each other a long, silent moment. When it was clear he wasn't going to attack her, she relaxed a little.

"All right, Roderick. Why did the queen send you?"

He kept his hands visible. "She told me you are her enemy. That you are a threat to her throne."

Snow laughed, but said nothing. Yes, indeed, she was the queen's enemy. She was a threat to her very existence.

"Why is that?" he asked.

She considered his question, trying to decide how to answer. He was a stranger, so telling him the truth about who she really was didn't seem like a sensible thing to do. But then, how to answer him without telling him the truth?

"Who are you to her?" he asked before she could come up with an answer.

She sucked in a breath, then exhaled it. "I am no one to her."

He shook his head. "I disagree. If you were no one to her, she would not be so determined to do away with you."

That caught her off guard. "Do away with me?" she repeated.

"She wants you dead."

An interesting choice of words, almost as though he already knew who she was.

Of course, Seraphina wanted her dead. She used her dark magic to force Annilen to tell her Snow was living in the elven village. She sent the Shadow to kill her. Snow regarded Roderick and understood why, then, he had returned. He had come to kill her.

"You speak as though you already know who I am when I have not given my name."

"Seraphina told me there was a woman living in the forest with hair as black as ebony, lips red as the rose and skin white as snow. There is only one person in this forest that matches that description. You. You are Snow White," he said.

She lifted her chin and looked down her nose at him. "Are you going to kill me then?"

"As I said, I intend to help you."

He had avoided her question altogether. Irritation swept through her. Did he think she would accept this as an answer?

She scoffed. "Do what?"

He considered her for a long moment. There was a thoughtfulness in his eyes as he chose his next words.

"When I traveled through the villages from here to the queen's castle, I stopped along the way in Westfall to take shelter and have a meal at one of the inns. The innkeeper there was a jolly man who liked to tell stories," he said.

"What does this have to do with Snow White?" she asked, still in denial of giving him her true name.

Roderick ignored her question and continued. "He told me the story of Queen Seraphina and how she came to power when the king died. The kingdom, it seems, was to pass to the king's only daughter but she had mysteriously disappeared. No one knew where she went or even if she still lived. He said her name was Snow White."

The blood roared in her ears as she stared at him, her heart a raging beat. Around her, the flora and fauna shuddered, as though they sensed the terror shifting through her.

"The princess disappeared ten years ago," he said. "Judging by your age, my guess is you have come of age and are the rightful ruler of the Mystic Vale. Not Seraphina." As he said this, he eyed the pendant around her neck.

It was then she realized it was no longer under her gown. It rested against the material and glinted in the moonlight. He moved closer, closing the distance between them and halted mere inches from her. Her gut clenched with his nearness.

"The royal sigil of the Mystic Vale is the rose and crown."

He reached for the necklace, picking it up between his thumb and forefinger. "The rose and crown that looks just like this." He ran his thumb over the sigil. "Tell me. Are you Snow White?"

Her eyes met his. And in those depths, she saw a man who was determined to find out the truth about her. There seemed to be no malicious intent behind those eyes. Nothing that would indicate to her he wanted to kill her. Even so, she wasn't sure she fully trusted him.

"Yes," she said at last, the word a hiss of ice between her teeth. "I am Snow White."